In directional finding applications, it is often desirable to provide directional finding systems to locate the direction of emitters. Collecting and Direction Finding (DF) in the High Frequency (HF) band, i.e. 1 to 32 MHz, typically requires large antenna arrays requiring lots of real estate to locate an emitter, i.e. a distant end transmitter. For collection of very distant, more powerful HF signals, placement of these large HF systems is only restricted by the local environment and the real-estate available. However, for low power transmitters (several watts such as hand-held or mobile HF radio), these systems are too distant to receive a high enough Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) for signal identification, demodulation, and required DF accuracies.
It would, therefore, be desirable to provide a small, tactical, man-transportable HF system which provides the functional DF capabilities of a large HF array for tactical situations involving low-power, close proximity HF signals. As to be discussed hereinafter, close proximity and mobility provide advantages that allow our contemplated system to approximate the capabilities of large HF DF arrays. By producing a system with these capabilities that is lightweight, collapsible, and able fit into a standard military backpack, a real-time intelligence in the field that is not currently available can be provided.